Charmed
by MissingMommy
Summary: Rita is a little overwhelmed by Gilderoy's beauty when she interviews him for her article.


For QL round 10. I'm the Harpues Captain.

* * *

Rita lands in front of a rather large, impressive manor. She straightens her green jacket before raising her hand to knock at the door. A few minutes later, the door swings open.

Gilderoy Lockhart stands before her, smiling charmingly. His robes are outrageously complex and beautiful, which only enhances his natural beauty. He side steps the doorway and waves her in. "Ah, Ms. Skeeter. Do come in."

Her heart beats wildly. He's even more handsome in person. She slips past him into the foyer. The first thing she sees is a portrait of him.

He shuts the door. "Right this way," he says, leading her further inside.

On every available surface, there is another portrait of him. The portraits are in every pose imaginable - standing, sitting, laying. There is even one of him painting a portrait of himself.

He leads her to the drawing room. Her heels click the entire way, the only noise between them. He gestures to the chair opposite of him as he sits down. She sits, crossing her legs and throwing her perfectly curled hair over her shoulders.

Rita takes out her Quick Quotes Quill and her notepad. "Thank you for sitting down with me," she says. "Now I hear that your new book is about to be published."

"Ah yes. I have finished my autobiography, _Magical Me_ ," Gilderoy answers easily. He sits with his ankles crossed. He looks regal sitting before her.

"Why did you decide to write an autobiography?" Rita asks. She sees her quill writing out the corner of her eyes as she studies the other man.

He gives her a dashing smile. "My fans, of course. I wanted my fans to know the real me. What made me, well, me."

"This new book comes on the heels of you being named Britain's Best Dressed Wizard," Rita points out. She can see why he was named that; his wardrobe is magnificent.

He gestures to his robes. "Can you blame them? I mean, I do dress excellently, if I do say so myself."

She glances at her notepad, double checking what her quill is writing. "What else can we expect from you in the future?"

"More awards," he answers immediately. "I'm aiming to be named _Witch Weekly's_ Most Charming Smile for the sixth time. I want to get my shampoo out there, as well. And finally, I'm also trying to be named the Minister for Magic."

"Minister for Magic?" she questions, lifting her eyebrow slightly.

He flashes another brilliant smile. "Why, of course! It is only fitting I become Minister for Magic; I've battled trolls, banshees, vampires, hags, and ghouls. I certainly have what it takes to be Minister."

"I suppose you do," Rita assures him. "What about this shampoo of yours?"

"Yes, my Occamy egg yolk shampoo," he verifies. "I use it every day. It's what makes my hair look so lustrous."

His hair looks healthier and more lustrous than her own. She's not sure how she missed how brilliantly it shone before, but it looks touchably soft and Rita wants to run her fingers through his wavy hair.

"I want to be able to mass produce it soon," Gilderoy continues. "After all, who wouldn't want to have hair like mine?"

Rita laughs, nodding along. She would love for her hair to look as amazing as his. "Anything else you are working on?"

"Well, since all those projects require my full attention, no."

She nods. "I think I have everything then."

He flicks his wand elegantly. A book with his smiling face coming flying towards him. He grabs it before he snags her quill out of the air and signs the book. Then he holds both the book and the quill towards her. "Here, have one of the first copies of _Magical Me_. I insist."

Heat rises to Rita's cheeks. It's not the first time that she has been given a sneak preview of things to come, but it feels different coming from Gilderoy. "Thank you."

"I'll walk you to the door," Gilderoy says.

The walk back through the manor is just as quiet as the walk in. Her heels sound throughout the walk.

"I look forward to your article, Ms. Skeeter. It's about me so I'm sure it will be fabulous," Gilderoy boasts, winking at her.

Blushing, Rita smiles back at him as she Apparates away.

She corrects her jacket again. She sits at her desk, laying down her quill, notebook, and Gilderoy's autobiography. Pulling out a fresh paper, she tries to start on her article.

The words are difficult to find as she finds herself too caught up in her thoughts of the wizard. She has to refer back to her notes often; something that she usually doesn't have to do when an article topic interests her. "He's just too beautiful," she whispers to herself. "I can't even concentrate!"

It takes her most of the day to finish her article. The editor had stopped by on three different occasions, wondering what was taking her so long, since she usually turns out articles quickly. She reads it over one last time.

Her article, while painting him in a good light, lacks real substance. He isn't as impressive as she originally thought or as he seemed. Looking back on the meeting, she's not even sure why she was blushing like a silly little school girl. He didn't do anything to really cause that reaction. Maybe it was just his undeniable beauty that caused her to act like that.

She tells herself that she won't be so blinded by someone's beauty that it affects her work again.


End file.
